1. TROUBLE AT MILL?
Guidance for Psychologists
Working with Organisations
• Frank O’Connor
– RAP Consulting, Wellington franko@rap.net.nz
• Helena Cooper Thomas
– University of Auckland h.cooper-thomas@auckland.ac.nz
!

2. OUR SCOPE AND CAUTIONS
Guidance on laws and their implications relevant to
safe and effective practice by psychologists in a
range of organisational settings
Tiny text prompts discussion
Common and employment law applying to non-
psychological activities is outside our scope
• Not a definitive source for training or practice
• Advice that is sound and compliant on one occasion or in one
context may not apply to another
• There may be varying duties of care to several parties with
markedly different views and levels of power
For example, an ethical duty of care may differ between confidential career counselling
versus an intervention to stop bullying

3. WHEN IS A PSYCHOLOGIST
NOT A PSYCHOLOGIST?
• Overlaps with other disciplines such as HR and OD mean
practitioners from fields outside psychology may use methods
that are similar to or the same as psychological practices
• A method that might be illegal or unethical for a psychologist
may not be for someone from another discipline
• Although a psychologists work may appear outside the scope of
particular legislation, under the HPCA Act, psychologists are
always psychologists and are, at all times, subject to the public
protection provisions of the Act and its ethical standards
"

4. THE RELEVANT LEGISLATION
We’ll look at:
• Health Practitioners Competency Assurance Act 2005
• Code of Ethics for Psychologists working in Aotearoa/New
Zealand 2002
• Privacy Act 1993
• Official Information Act 1982 &
Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987
• Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 and Amendment
2002
Significant others:
• Human Rights Act 1993
• Employment Relations Act 2000 and Amendments, 2001, 2004
nos. 1 & 2
• State Sector Act 1988 and Amendment Act 2, 2004
#

5. HEALTH PRACTITIONERS COMPETENCY
ASSURANCE ACT 2005
The HPCA Act protects the public where there is a
risk of harm from the practice of health practitioners
• Psychologists working with organisations must be duly qualified
and registered with the Psychologists Board to use the title
“psychologist”
• Specifies that practitioners must only practice in their areas of
competence — may be less than the entire published scope
• Exists to protect members of the public from harmful practice by
health practitioners — not to protect areas of professional work
for those with a particular specialisation
• Obligation to maintain and develop competence through
education and training — documented continuing professional
development is required
• Competence may be assessed at any time — keep accurate and
full records of work for clients
$

6. WHAT TO DO?
The public safety sought under the Act is not
detailed
• You need a means of proving consistent achievement of
competence to become and remain registered
• No present code of conduct setting out minimum standards for
practising psychologists
– You want to demonstrate adequate management of types and
sources of risk to the public
Develop views of acceptable standards of practice
Contrast with examples of breaches which show inadequate assurance of safety
%

7. CODE OF ETHICS FOR PSYCHOLOGISTS
WORKING IN AOTEAROA/NEW ZEALAND
2002
• “The Code presents Principles and Values to which
psychologists should aspire and identifies the implications of
these Principles and Values for practice through the inclusion of
Practice Implications and associated Comments”
• Three explicit purposes
– “To unify the practices of the profession
– To guide psychologists in ethical decision-making
– To provide a set of guidelines to the public …about the profession’s
ethics”
• The Code details four key areas of responsibility
– respect for the dignity of persons and peoples
– responsible caring
– integrity in relationships
– social justice and responsibility to society
Each key area has practice examples in the Code itself

8. WHAT TO DO?
The Code has limited recognition of the multiple
relationships that exist between a psychologist
working for an organisation as “the client” and with
staff as participants
• You are running a series of group interventions to help particular
workgroups become more effective
• You have run this kind of session before – participants find them
useful in getting work done and working together better
• The work you are doing serves the objectives and interests of
the organisation as a whole, by raising productivity and
satisfaction
– The group members say one person’s preferences are at odds with
the interests of the group
– This person clearly says he wants things to stay as they are
Act in a way that is respectful and non-discriminatory
Watch for pressure to deliver work quickly to clients
&

9. PRIVACY ACT 1993
How agencies should behave in collecting,
managing, and using personal information about
employees or other individuals
• Applies to any “agency”: “any person or body of persons,
whether corporate or unincorporate, and whether in the public
sector or in the private sector”
• “Agencies” in our work with organisations include
– sole practitioners
– employers of any sort
– employees and their representative bodies
– contracted recruiters or trainers
• The Act contains twelve information privacy principles, which
describe the rights and responsibilities of both parties — the
agency and the individual who is the subject of the information
– detail at http://www.privacy.org.nz/people/peotop.html
'

10. WHAT TO DO?
You are asked to conduct assessments of three
candidates for a senior management position
• Candidates know why the information is being collected on
them, how it will be used & managed, and their rights of access
• The assessments involve gathering comments from colleagues
and previous employers, and opinions of each individual on past
events, their workplace, or other employees
• You take reasonable safeguards to ensure that the data is kept
securely
• After the assessments, one of the unsuccessful candidates asks
for access to her personal information
– She specifically wants to know what others thought of her team-
working skills
Right of access & correction to readily retrievable & factual information
No access as of right to assessment information that is evaluative
Ensure information is accurate & suited to the potential employer’s purpose
Additional consent from the client organisation which paid for the work?
!

11. OFFICIAL INFORMATION ACT 1982 &
LOCAL GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL
INFORMATION AND MEETINGS ACT 1987
• There are three purposes of these Acts:
– increase the availability of official information to promote more
effective public participation in the making and administration of laws
and policies
– promote the accountability of Ministers of the Crown and government
officials
– protect sensitive information where necessary in the public interest
or to preserve personal privacy
• Any person can ask for information on:
– decisions made about him or her
– internal policies, principles, rules or guidelines
– specific official information
– meeting agendas and minutes of public bodies, including those not
open to the public
!!

12. WHAT IS OFFICIAL INFORMATION?
• All information held by a Department, a Minister of the Crown in
his or her official capacity, or an organisation subject to the OIA
or LGOIMA
• Includes information held by
– an independent contractor engaged by an agency
– any advisory council or committee established for the purpose of
assisting or advising a department, Minister or organisation
– information that has not yet been written does exist and is "held"
• OIA governs the right of access by some individuals to
statements of reasons used by the decision-maker in a decision
or recommendation about themselves, as of right, even when
that decision also refers to other persons
– withholding information is necessary to "Protect the privacy of natural
persons" and not "outweighed by other considerations which render
it desirable, in the public interest, to make that information available"
– Privacy Act governs right of access by individuals to personal
information about themselves
See Office of the Ombudsmen Practice Guidelines www.ombudsmen.govt.nz
!

13. WHO GETS TO KNOW?
• A specific request for a statement must be made
– referring to OIA §23 or
– asking for more information about why a decision or
recommendation was made or
– seeking particular details about the decision or recommendation.
• The request must be from
– a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident
– a person who is in New Zealand
– a body corporate which has a place of business in New Zealand
• The decision or recommendation must affect the person in his,
her or its personal capacity
• The request must be made within a reasonable time of the
making of the decision or recommendation
• The written statement must include three elements
– the findings on material issues of fact
– a reference to the information on which the findings were based
– the reasons for the decision or recommendation
!"

14. WHAT TO DO?
• You have acted as an advisor in the selection of staff who
handle cash as part of their work for a local authority
• Reference checks made with a previous employer revealed that
one applicant had been suspected of theft of petty cash, but had
resigned and the matter had not been pursued
• You thought that the suspicion might be ill-founded but on the
basis of this check, the Council manager decided that the
applicant was not, or may not be, trustworthy
– The applicant has asked for more information about why she another
person was appointed
– The manager asks you what should be said
Reason for the decision must be included in a written statement
Reference check (evaluative material) excluded by promise of confidentiality
!#

15. HEALTH AND SAFETY IN EMPLOYMENT
ACT 1992 & AMENDMENT 2002
• Relates to the health and safety of employees, and other people
at work or affected by the work of other people
• Promotes excellence in health and safety management
• Manages hazards and risks, by making both employers and
employees responsible for behaving in safe ways
– includes possible negative physical and mental work outcomes, eg,
both physical and mental stress
– includes unintentional harm and harm to any person, not just an
employee
• Where there is a significant hazard to employees at work, the
Act requires employers to take practicable steps to:
– eliminate it or isolate employees from it
– minimise the likelihood that the hazard will be a source of harm
– monitor the employees' exposure to such a hazard
– take all practicable steps to obtain the employees' consent to the
monitoring of their health in relation to the hazard
– monitor the employees' health in relation to exposure to the hazard
Repetition? Employer is obliged to monitor, even without consent
!$

16. WHAT TO DO?
• You are asked to look at claims of sick leave that seem to be
related to workload peaks in a secondary school
• The principal asks you to identify the staff who are handling the
work well and help find more staff with the same characteristics
• You know that the Act §5(b) says that “all hazards and harm are
covered, including harm caused by work-related stress and
hazardous behaviour caused by certain temporary conditions”
– You have interviewed a dozen staff so far and all have talked of
having too much work to do
– Staff don’t want to do stress monitoring or reduction activities
– The principal assures you that the staff you’ve seen are typical
Employer must take reasonable steps to mitigate hazard
Onus is on the employer to monitor exposure to hazards
With or without consent, employer must monitor employees’ health
!%

17. COMING SOON
• The new Handbook of Psychology and the Law has a chapter
especially for psychologists working with organisations
– What Psychologists in Organisations Do
– The Need for Recognition and Mitigation of Risk of Illegal Practice
– Relevant Legislation
– Recommended Practice Guidelines
– References
– Recommended Reading
– Endnote: Diverse Roles for I/O Psychologists
• Frank O’Connor
– RAP Consulting, Wellington franko@rap.net.nz
• Helena Cooper Thomas
– University of Auckland h.cooper-thomas@auckland.ac.nz
!